Samsung and BlackBerry: A formidable enterprise mobile partnership?

There’s always a rumor that someone is going to buy BlackBerry. That’s what happens when your market share and market cap tank: You become buyout bait.

The latest speculation has South Korean electronics giant — and world’s largest Android manufacturer — Samsung either acquiring BlackBerry or buying a major stake in the Canada-based former global smartphone market leader.

While BlackBerry denied a deal was in the works, it probably didn’t mind the surge in share price based on the news story in Canada’s Financial Post (and based on an anonymous source).

Just for fun, let’s assume the rumors are true. If so, would this pairing be able to establish a strong foothold in the enterprise market?

Samsung has been pounding on the enterprise rock for some time, with little to show for it. Most enterprises, at least in the U.S., lean toward Apple’s iOS. But if Samsung teamed with BlackBerry — whose only remaining assets (besides patents) just may be its declining (though still measurable) presence in the enterprise — they may be able to take some enterprise market share from Cupertino. Or so the thinking goes.

It’s an underdog’s strategy that stems from inherent weakness, no doubt. And it relies to some extent on vague hopes that Samsung could leverage some of BlackBerry’s security and wireless patents.

Maybe it can, but the real challenge is convincing and converting enterprise customers. And that remains an uphill battle as long as iOS penetration and loyalty remain strong in the enterprise.

If you’re an iOS shop, would you be willing to give Samsung/BlackBerry a serious look? Let us know in the comments section below.